A/N: Short chapter I know… but two long ones are coming up!

CH: 5- Confessions

The family sat outside Katie's room at St. Mungo's, all of them laughing and talking in excited voices. Harry stood on his own, away from the rest of his family, trying hard not to intrude upon their happiness. It had been a long time since he had felt like a part of the Weasley family, and being away for so long was only making him feel worse about it all. After all, it was his fault that he hadn't seen them in nearly seven years.

He sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair. It was just after eleven and he felt dead on his feet, but for some reason he couldn't pull himself away from the Weasley's. Natalie was sleeping with her head on Ginny's lap and Harry felt his heart thud painfully in his chest. That was his daughter, his and Ginny's daughter, and he had never seen any child so beautiful in his life. She looked like a miniature Ginny with one major flaw, she had his hair.

How he hadn't noticed it earlier he had no idea, but it was painfully obvious now. He looked up and into Ginny's face. She was staring at him, her eyes full of anguish and… love. Could it be possible that she still cared for him?

He crossed the distance between them and stood at her side, waiting for her to say whatever it was she needed to say. He knew that her lies had caught up with her, and she was hurting because of it.

"Harry… I…" she began but her throat caught. Why had she ever lied to him before? This wasn't someone that she didn't know, this was Harry.

The door to Katie's room was thrown open and George stepped out with a screaming baby wrapped in his arms. "It's a boy!" he said proudly and the family erupted into cheers.

"Congratulations George!" Bill called happily as he and Fleur embraced tightly. She was sobbing into his dress robes, but Bill didn't seem to mind. He caught Harry's eye and grinned. "She's very emotional you know, Veela can only have three children and she really wants another one." Harry didn't pretend to understand, but he patted her on the back comfortingly.

The noise was loud enough to wake each and every patient in the hospital and Harry was sure that they were all wondering what was going on down in the maternity ward. Natalie opened her eyes sleepily and then rubbed them with her fists. Harry looked toward his daughter with a look of wonder on his face. Had he really created something as beautiful as she was?

Natalie stood up and walked over to Harry with her arm's outstretched. He wasn't quite sure what she wanted, but he picked her up and held her in his arms. Immediately she fell asleep, comforted by her father's presence. The ward went quiet, almost as if someone had turned down the dial on a radio. They were all looking at Harry holding Natalie in his arms.

Ginny couldn't breathe. Anyone looking at the two of them would be able to tell that Natalie belonged to Harry, that she was very much his child. It was all she could do to keep from fainting. "Adorable isn't she?" Harry asked as he stroked her back lightly.

Molly poked Ginny in the back as a silent reminder that if she was going to tell him she had better do it now. Ginny sighed in resignation and walked over to Harry with dread filling her heart. "Can we talk about this outside?" she asked quietly, though she held no hope that her entire family wasn't listening in. Harry nodded, passed Natalie onto Molly and walked silently outside into Muggle London.

"I think we should apparate back to the Burrow," Ginny suggested as soon as they reached the cold night air. Harry shrugged, looking breathtakingly handsome in his dress robes. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and beg his forgiveness, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She concentrated on the Burrow, and after a very uncomfortable feeling of being sucked through a tube she was standing in her garden, with Harry right beside her.

Harry led the way to the swing he had sat on earlier when Natalie had revealed herself to him. It seemed fitting that Ginny would do the same in this exact spot. "You wanted to explain something?" he asked pleasantly. Ginny shivered, both from the tone of his voice and from the cold. She was still in her feather light dress robes, and it had started snowing. Harry took pity on her and quickly, before she had realized what he was doing, he wrapped her up in his arms and put his heavier robes around them both. Ginny didn't protest, instead she snuggled closer to him and breathed in his warmth. It felt like old times.

"You are probably wondering why I didn't write you to tell you about Natalie," Ginny said softly. After a derisive laugh from Harry she continued. "You have every right to hate me forever, but I want to tell you why I did it first."

"I'm listening," Harry said quietly. Ginny was silent for several moments. Harry realized that she had to be gathering her thoughts, so he looked around. The garden was sparkling in the moonlight, with snow gently falling around them. It was more magical than any place he had ever been, and he couldn't remember why he had wanted to leave it in the first place.

"When you left to play Quidditch for the Canons, I assumed that we were over. I told you this earlier, but I need to stress this point. I knew you wouldn't come back for me, but would you have come back if you knew I was pregnant? Of course you would have. You always did the noble thing, even if you didn't want to. You would have come back, married me and lived a peaceful life. I knew even then that you weren't a man to be tied down," Ginny whispered, her voice catching on a small sob.

"I've always loved you Ginny, I always wanted you to have whatever you wanted. I wanted to give you everything you wanted. I wanted children and a family, it was you who wanted to wait," Harry reminded her gently.

"I know that now, but I was young and unsure of your love. After all, I've always loved you and it would have killed me to know that you never felt the same," Ginny whispered. After another moment she finished what she wanted to say. "Natalie has grown up knowing that the famous Harry Potter is her father. She has a scrapbook of every article ever printed about you. Mum made it for her."

Silence fell upon them, engulfing them in their memories. They didn't speak for several long minutes; minutes in which they were both assessing their present situation. "I want to get to know my daughter," Harry finally said, breaking the silence.

Ginny turned around to face him, her eyes wet with tears and full of happiness. "You do?"

"I want both of you in my life Gin, I won't take no for an answer," he told her, making sure his meaning was very clear. It was.

In the moment before his mouth came crushing down upon hers, she heard him whisper, "I love you." Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him tightly to her; afraid that he would disappear, like he always did in her dreams. It was the sweet kiss of a love rekindled and a fire that was to hot to put out. Ginny felt herself melting into him, becoming a part of him, it was just like old times, with one minor flaw; he still hadn't come clean with her about Malia.

Ginny pulled away from Harry and looked up into his eyes. They were dark with desire, hazy with passion; he was too far gone to realize that she had pulled away. Finally his eyes swam into focus and he stared at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"I want you to tell me about Malia," she said as she took his hands in hers. Harry expelled a breath and sighed.

"You really want to know the truth?" Ginny nodded and Harry sighed again. It was time that he set things straight. "Malia Moon and her husband Kyle were beaters for the Canons. I thought that we were getting a bargain, two members for the price of one. They were good too; they could coordinate their movements unlike any other pair I've seen. They were closer than Fred and George even," Harry explained. Ginny couldn't understand the relevance of this, but she kept her mouth shut.

"They had been best friends from the age of three, neighbors first, and then students together in Ravenclaw and then they married. It seemed as though life was perfect for them, they were both beautiful, talented and perfect for one another. Malia had never been jealous before."

"What do you mean?" she was confused about this conversation. Harry hadn't even mentioned himself yet, and why Malia and Kyle's history was so important she couldn't understand. She knew Harry wouldn't tell her this for no reason though.

"All of her life Malia was Kyle's best and only friend. They confided only in each other, they talked only to each other and they were completely devoted to one another. She had problems with his fan-girls," Harry stopped and took a deep breath. This seemed to Ginny, to be the hardest part of the story for him to tell. She kissed him softly on the cheek then, trying to ease his conscious a bit, and telling him silently of her feelings for him, no matter what he said now.

"One evening Malia was visiting her parents, Kyle couldn't go with her because he and I were working out new moves for the team. A woman by the name of Susan Marks let herself into their flat and tried to get Kyle into bed. He was to smart for her of course and he very graciously let her out of his apartment. Somehow the story hit the Daily Prophet, but it was distorted. They made it sound like he had had a very scandalous affair with the woman. When Malia found out she was crushed beyond repair, and came to me for help."

Ginny could see where the story was going now. Malia had gone to Harry for comfort and when Harry had helped her they too were said to be having an affair. "Oh Harry. I'm so sorry for ever doubting you," she whispered tearfully.

"I'm not quite done yet Gin, save your tears for afterward," Harry said bitterly. "She came to me for the wrong thing. She told me that she needed someone to help her get over her husband, she tried to kiss me. I talked her out of her crazy idea and told her that if she wanted someone to talk to, I was there, but I didn't care for her in that respect. After that she would come to my flat often and we would talk for hours, or she would talk and I would listen. Eventually the press caught on and they printed a really brilliant story about us moving in together or something like that…"

"Harry Potter and Malia Moon caught in torrid love affair," Ginny quoted and Harry grimaced. "I read every story that involved the two of you. I heard everything from she was leaving her husband, to she was having your child. I ripped up the newspaper and set fire to it that day," Ginny admitted. He laughed and held her tightly. Only she could make him laugh when he felt like murdering the staff of the Daily Prophet. A sudden thought occurred to him then, and he took a deep breath, trying to gather strength.

"Ginny, I know that it has been years since we have been out. I was wondering whether you would like to come to dinner with me sometime next week." It was out, either she would reject him, or take the step necessary to get them back together again.

"I would like that Harry," she said softly, her lips moving in on his. Harry closed the distance between them and wound his arms tightly around her. At last, he was getting his second chance and he would never ever let her go.